Chapter 296: Trapped with No Escape, No Help from the Sky

This novel is translated and hosted only on Bca Translation

“AH!”

Yellow Finch had just stepped out of the passenger cabin into the equipment compartment when Chu An Qing, who had been hiding behind the door, jumped like a startled rabbit.

“....”

“....”

The two women locked eyes, Yellow Finch turned away, striding purposefully towards the cockpit through the equipment compartment.

Phew...

Chu An Qing, caught eavesdropping, sighed in relief. She lifted her mask and cautiously stepped into the passenger cabin, looking at Lin Xian, who had just had a tense exchange with Yellow Finch.

“Lin Xian... Senior Lin Xian, please don’t argue...” She spoke softly, walking over to Lin Xian and taking his hand. “I know the situation is dangerous, and everyone is really tense. I might not understand everything... but I trust Coach Wei Cheng and Sister Yellow Finch to make the right decisions. They are professional astronauts and have more experience in space than we do.”

“Coach Wei Cheng also mentioned that during their training, they simulated manual piloting. Even though we’ve lost guidance, navigation, and communication from the ground center, all the systems on the spacecraft are still working fine—like the gyroscope, altimeter, and direction indicator. Coach Wei Cheng believes he can complete the piloting task.”

“Senior Lin Xian, let’s trust Coach Wei Cheng and Sister Yellow Finch. Even without ground communication, as long as Liu Feng can track the time-space particle and Senior Gao Yang can operate the robotic arm, we won’t miss capturing the particle.”

“Although I don’t know how I can help, I’ll do my best! I’ll definitely help everyone, help you and Liu Feng capture that time-space particle!”

Lin Xian looked down at Chu An Qing, who forced a smile. She had seen it clearly... When the explosions sounded and the smell of burnt wires filled the air, Chu An Qing had turned pale with fear. A 19-year-old girl, in space. How could she have such composure and resilience? Her smile now was just a facade, lacking the usual crescent-shaped eyes, the dimples, and the heartwarming, spring-like feeling.

“Don’t worry.” Lin Xian smiled. “We weren’t arguing, just having a bit of a heated discussion. It’s nothing serious.”

Chu An Qing looked at Lin Xian and nodded silently. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop... she had just noticed the two missing from the equipment compartment and heard some arguing, so she thought to intervene. But after listening for a bit, she realized both were calm, so she stayed outside.

“Hehe, as long as it’s okay.” Chu An Qing giggled. “As long as it’s okay...”

....

On the ground, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center’s main control room, chaos reigned. People were running around, papers scattered everywhere, alarm lights flashing, and voices shouting from all channels:

“Still no contact? Is there any signal from the relay satellite? BeiDou! Capture the spacecraft signal from the BeiDou satellite!”

“Calling! Calling! Pilot Wei Cheng! Chief Yellow Finch! Please respond if you hear this!”

“No use... completely disconnected. It’s like they’ve disappeared. None of the methods are working.”

“It’s not just the contact. We can’t get even the basic signal, feedback, or response! It’s too strange... The spacecraft has multiple communication systems, even the backup ones. How could all of them fail?”

“Yes, and all communication channels failing at the same time is impossible. Even if something went wrong, we should be able to contact the debris with the equipment... all systems failing is too strange!”

The ground commander wiped the sweat off his forehead. This situation had never occurred in the history of the space program. All backup plans had been tried but none succeeded. From the signals sent by the observation satellites, the spacecraft seemed to be navigating normally, without any malfunctions, explosions, or collisions. So there was only one possibility left—The spacecraft had chosen to cut off all signal networks and communication channels.

But this didn’t make sense either. Because the highest control over the spacecraft’s communication channels was on the ground. Even if the spacecraft closed them, the ground control could reopen them. Strange. Too strange!

“Report! An anomaly has been detected in outer space orbit!”

USA, Texas, SpaceX Launch Facility. Observation Tower.

The secretary adjusted her slipping red-rimmed glasses, pocketing the phone Elon Musk handed her, and asked curiously, “What did you just do?”

“Virus.” Elon Musk said calmly. “I planted a virus targeting super artificial intelligence into the global internet. This virus is highly advanced, beyond our understanding... to be honest, I don’t fully understand it, but I trust its effect.”

The secretary blinked. “You... want to destroy all artificial intelligence?”

“Only super artificial intelligence.” Elon Musk emphasized. “As you said earlier, current artificial intelligence is essentially just big data, puzzle-solving, and searching. Fundamentally, it’s not much different from previous smart home systems. It’s just that technology has advanced, computing power has increased, leading to qualitative changes.”

“But... super artificial intelligence is different. It’s troublesome and hard to control. In our modern cities, the presence of a super AI is concerning. So, this virus only targets super AI. For the next few hundred years, it will remain undetected, won’t disappear, and can’t be removed. It will lie dormant in the cyber world... hunting any super AI that exceeds the baseline test.”

“I don’t reject simple, thoughtless, obedient AI that improves people’s lives, but super AI... no thanks, it’s too disruptive.”

He smiled slightly, raising his hands, puffing out his chest, gazing at the grand and majestic rocket launch center.

“From today onward, for hundreds of years, there will be no super AI in the world! This virus has locked that possibility!”

“Wonderful, hahaha, wonderful.” Elon Musk smacked his lips, shaking his head. “As I said earlier... I don’t like AI.”

....

The secretary listened with her mouth half open to her boss’s bizarre speech. But she was used to it. If this tall, strong man before her wasn’t the world’s richest person, he’d likely be deemed a madman, a liar, or a lunatic and thrown into a hospital for treatment. Elon Musk leaned back against the observation tower’s iron railing, pressing his weight on it, staring at the rocket restrained in the launch tower.

“Now, go find Director Mike.”

“Mike?” The secretary looked up, her red-rimmed glasses slipping again. Director Mike was the highest manager of the entire launch center, responsible for rocket launches and satellite missions.

“What should I tell him?” she asked.

Elon Musk pointed to the rocket in the launch tower, ready to launch.

“Tell Mike to launch the rocket!”

This novel is translated and hosted only on Bca Translation

“What?” The secretary’s glasses slipped further. “But... this rocket is scheduled for testing in two weeks! We haven’t even started preparations!”

“Just add fuel, and it can fly. Rockets aren’t that complicated.”

“But!” The secretary finally pushed up her glasses. “But! The rocket is empty! What are we launching? Where are we sending it? You can’t be so impulsive!”

Elon Musk shook his head. “You just need to tell Director Mike. He knows where to launch it. A few days ago, I already explained everything to him from this tower.”

With that, he looked up at the blazing sun and then towards the east... The distant US East Coast.

“Trapped, with no escape, no help from the sky. Lin Xian...”

He chuckled, squinting his eyes. “See you in the sky!”

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation